Prince to Headline the 20th Anniversary of the Essence Music Festival in 2014

The Essence Music Festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2014, and the legendary musician Prince is officially on board to commemorate the event with a headlining performance!

During the Fourth of July weekend (July 3-6, 2014), the Purple One will descend upon the Superdome, not only to celebrate the festival’s 20th birthday, but also in support of the Rebuild the Dream Innovation Fund Youth Empowerment Initiative (#YesWeCode) which encourages the youth to use technology mixed with creativity to code.

“Welcoming an artist as iconic as Prince back to the ESSENCE Festival for a 20th anniversary performance is incredibly exciting,” said Essence Communications President, Michelle Ebanks. “The ESSENCE Festival is where we come together to connect to both our culture and our community, so we are pleased to support Prince and the Rebuild the Dream Innovation Fund in advocating for our youth.”

Prince also headlined the Festival’s 10-year anniversary in 2004. This year’s Essence Fest welcomed over 540,000 people, breaking an attendance record. Other performers will be announced in coming weeks.

For more information on Rebuild the Dream initiative #YesWeCode, visit yeswecode.com, and to purchase tickets to the 2014 20th Anniversary of the Essence Festival, visit www.essencefestival.com.

Before his untimely passing, Prince trusted the release of his music on Jay Z’s streaming service TIDAL, so it only makes sense that Jay would place a bid on the late musician’s music catalog. However, the hip-hop business mogul’s lucrative offer was turned down by Prince’s estate.